


The Court of Schemes and Lies

by whisperingtales



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Love Triangle, jude is abducted by the undersea, jude is exiled, jude x the ghost, jurdan - Freeform, the queen of nothing, the wicked king
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:00:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29543439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whisperingtales/pseuds/whisperingtales
Summary: AU where the Ghost falls for Jude instead of Taryn.During The Wicked King and The Queen of Nothing.
Relationships: Jude Duarte/Cardan Greenbriar, Jude Duarte/The Ghost
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	The Court of Schemes and Lies

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! This is a request I got for a love triangle between Cardan, Jude, and the Ghost. It's not really my cup of tea so I hope I did well enough :)
> 
> I apologize if there are any grammar mistakes, in which case let me know so I can correct them.  
> Any feedback, positive or negative, constructive criticism is welcome <3
> 
> Enjoy!

“You’ve got to angle your wrist like this. See?” It was a Sunday afternoon and, of course, they had nothing better to do than training. Jude was very fond of the art of sword fighting and dagger throwing and sly footing. But the sun was at its peak, warming Jude’s cheeks and making beads of sweat fall down her neck and temples. She had spent the previous day with Cardan, signing papers and answering letters. Jude was thoroughly exhausted, to say the least. Spending a whole day with His Majesty can do that to you.

The Ghost was helping her improve her hand movements, and to show her the correct way of holding and tossing knives, he got unusually close to her, positioned himself behind her, and grabbed her wrist. He seemed to notice her muscles tense because as swiftly as he approached her, he took a step back.

“I think I’ve got it.” She hurled the weapon and watched as it cut through the middle of the apple on a wood log.

“Right through the heart,” he smiled. 

“I’m not best known as a quitter. But I nailed that, so I deserve a reward. And I really need a bath.” 

“Alright, fair enough.”

Jude lifted Nightfell from the grass and started walking towards the palace. It wasn’t until after she took a few steps, that she realized the Ghost wasn’t following. “Aren’t you coming?”

“I’ve got to run some errands, but I’ll catch up with the rest of you later.”

“Okay then,” she saluted him like a soldier and resumed her path.

  
  


This had become their routine. She and the Ghost had fallen into an easy rhythm: waking up early, sparring, practicing sneaking up on people, knife throwing, training all the way to exhaustion. That was until she was captured by the Undersea. Until the Ghost betrayed her.

She spent her days underwater wondering if Cardan missed her, and most of all, scolding herself for falling for the Ghost’s friendly, easygoing facade. 

…

The Ghost wished time travel was as real as faeries, so he could turn back time to before everything went down. He couldn’t help plunging into a well of torment and regret. Betraying Jude was one of the worst crimes he had committed, which was saying a lot since he was no saint. But he considered it as such because Jude Duarte was a girl born into a life she didn’t want; she’d learnt to not get attached, to defend herself, to not give anyone her trust. Despite that, she’d been mastering the ability to soften her armour, to let people in. And the Ghost had been lucky enough to be one of them. However, he could not now imagine how Jude was feeling. His heart ached at the thought of her loathing him; because as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he’d begun to fall for the girl after all the time they’d been spending together. He could see why Cardan looked at her the way he did.

While Jude was gone, the King drowning in sorrow, Locke’s visits to the palace had increased, and in spite of knowing how painful it would be for Cardan, he dragged Taryn with him every time he was able to. What they didn’t know was that, for the Ghost, looking at Taryn was like getting stabbed in the gut a hundred times. Though he would sometimes steal glances at her, always within the shadows, because she reminded him of Jude. And he missed Jude. He hoped she was doing okay.

…

She was suffocating. Despite being able to breathe underwater, she felt her lungs full of salty water, scraping her throat, numbing her senses. She couldn’t distinguish night from daylight, all hours far beneath the surface darker than her nightmares.

Pretending to be under a geas was getting harder everyday, even when she could hardly discern one day from another. Feeling weightless became scarier than she ever imagined, especially while being tied up to the bottomless sea. Her mind making up a blurry picture of what it used to be, her ability to resist poison getting weaker by the hour.

All she could think of was Cardan. If he was thinking of her, if he missed her, if he found himself helpless without her. Seeing Balekin only reminded her of what she didn’t have, whose company she craved, whose presence gave her life a spark.

It was true she had yet to figure out why the Ghost had betrayed her. Why not only had he lied to her from their first meeting but also why he’d handed her to the claws of death.

These thoughts assaulted her mind the moment she rested her head on the scratchy pillow, drifting her away from the much needed sleep.

…

A loud thud broke the sharp quiet that enveloped the King’s seneschal quarters. Cardan had spent the past days either sitting on the vanity chair or lounging on the bed as empty as his soul now was. Jude was gone and it all had been his fault. For caring for her, for reserving love for her in his worm-eaten heart. The queen of the Undersea was well aware of his affections for the girl and took advantage of it; Nicasia, hating Jude as much as she did, didn’t lift a finger to help her, to talk her mother out of the cruel plan.

From the moment he realized she’d been abducted, he went out of his mind, clinging to the idea of ripping the whole kingdom apart. He couldn’t care less about the consequences. Cardan had tried talking to Nicasia, trying to convince her to help him, to bring Jude back to him. But the princess’ friendship could only go so far, jealousy overpowering all of her senses.

The Court of Shadows, worried as ever, tried to get him to eat, to sleep, to do something. But the King would not abandon Jude’s chambers. He always sat in deafening silence, grieving her absence. His mind flooded with images of Jude drowning, of Jude being tortured by the Undersea folk, of Jude. Jude. Jude.


End file.
